Stunts Biography - Jim Jones

Episodes

tos

The Enterprise is investigating the planet Pyris VII, but the landing party - comprising Sulu, Scott and Crewman Jackson - is overdue for their routine check in. Jackson finally contacts the ship asking to be beamed aboard, but when he appears he collapses to the floor, dead. Amazingly, a voice from his mouth informs Kirk that the ship is cursed!

Kirk beams down with Spock and McCoy, leaving Assistant Chief Engineer DeSalle in command of the ship. They arrive in a fogbound environment, quite at odds with what their sensor readings indicated. Detecting lifeforms nearby the landing party investigates, only to be confronted with a ghostly apparition - three witches, warning them to leave or face disaster. Undaunted, the officers press on and discover a large castle. They enter and begin to explore, but a section of floor collapses beneath them, knocking them out.

They wake to find themselves chained in a dungeon. Scotty and Sulu appear, but they appear to by drugged or hypnotised, not recognising their fellow officers. They free the landing party and take them at gunpoint from the room to meet a robed man. He is, apparently, some kind of magician - complete with a wand and black cat. The man's name is Korob, and he appears intent on getting the Enterprise officers to leave as soon as possible. Korob claims that the events have been staged to test the Enterprise crew, but he clearly seems to be hiding the truth.

A woman, Sylvia, enters. She demonstrates her own power to Kirk, holding a small model of the Enterprise over a candle - and action which causes the real ship in orbit to grow unbearably hot! Although she spares the ship, Korob seals the model in a glass block, which paralyses the real ship within a strange forcefield.

Kirk and Spock are taken to the dungeon, whilst Sylvia questions McCoy. She argues with Korob about their plans - Sylvia states that she enjoys the sensations she is experiencing in her present form, as apparently their normal existence does not afford them such. Korob argues that they have a mission to complete, but Sylvia seems in favour of abandoning it.

Sylvia brings Kirk back to talk, and reveals that she has become enamoured of him. She is thinking of getting rid of Korob and keeping Kirk for herself. Kirk plays along for information, and learns that the "magic wand" is a transmuter, able to reform matter into different forms - this is how the pair create the various strange things Kirk has encountered. She realises the deception and has Kirk returned to the dungeon.

Korob, beginning to fear Sylvia's intentions, releases the Enterprise and Kirk and Spock. He expresses regret for how things have gone, wishing there could have been peaceful contact. As they attempt to flee, Kirk and Spock encounter Sylvia's black cat, only grown to enormous size. The cat kills Korob, and Kirk grabs his transmuter wand and escapes. Sylvia demands the transmuter wand, which is more powerful than her own device, but as Kirk begins to hand it over he instead smashes it. At once the castle and everything within it vanishes, leaving only Sylvia and Korob in their true form - two small, vaguely birdlike aliens who quickly die. With the menace defeated, the officers beam back to the ship.

The Enterprise is at Capella IV to negotiate with the inhabitants for access to Topeline, a valuable mineral. The Capellans are large, warlike, but relatively primitive people whose culture is bound by various strict laws of behaviour. McCoy, familiar with the Capellans after he spent some months on their world, briefs the officers on their customs. Kirk points out that the Klingons are also known to have contact with the Capellans, complicating matters.

The officers beam down and greet a party of Capellans, but when a Klingon walks forward to greet them a security officer reacts by drawing his phaser. The man is instantly killed by one of the Capellans for offering violence to a guest, leaving Kirk dismayed.

The Capellans demand the weapons of the Enterprise crew, who hand them over. They proceed into a tent to establish relations, enjoying some food. McCoy advises Kirk not to touch a Capellan woman, even accidentally, as such an action would be considered rude and demand a violent respnse from her closest male relative. Kirk obeys the advice, much to the disappointment of the Capellan relative who had been looking forward to an entertaining fight.

Kirk and the Klingon, Kras, meet with Akaar, the "Teer" - leader - of the Capellans. With McCoy's help the Federation officers are able to score some points over their competition, and Akaar seems to favour dealing with them. However, his rivals disagree since the Klingons appear warlike, much as they are. Maab is especially distrustful of the Federation, and challenges Akaar. A fight breaks out and Maab kills Akaar, winning the leadership of the tribes. Kirk takes this in stride, recognising that by the standards of the Capellans what Maab has done is legal and reasonable. Kras asks Maab to kill the Federation officers but Maab declines, noting that Kirk had acted with bravery during the fighting whilst he had seen fear in Kras's eyes.

Maab orders Akaar's wife Eleen killed in order to avoid the birth of her child, who may be a future rival as Akaar's heir. When he shoves Eleen she falls against a burning torch and hurts her arm, prompting Kirk and McCoy to help her. Unfortunately this violates the rule about touching women, and Eleen and the Capellans are highly insulted. Maab orders them all imprisoned together.

In orbit, Scotty is in command of the ship. They pick up a distress signal from the SS Deirdre, and although they are worried about what may be happening down on the surface they have little choice but to leave orbit to head for the ship. Arriving at the coordinates, they find nothing there. Suspicious, Scotty replays the distress call - and realises that the call was addressed to the Enterprise specifically by name. Since a civilian ship would have no way of knowing that that specific Starship was nearby, the call must be bogus. He heads back for Capella IV, but the ship quickly picks up another distress call, this time from the USS Carolina. Although the call appears perfectly genuine Scotty dismisses it out of hand, refusing to believe that it is genuine. As the ship approaches Capella, however, the sensors pick up a Klingon ship waiting for them.

Back on the planet, Kirk, Spock and McCoy quickly manage an escape, taking Eleen along with them. McCoy insists on touching her during his examination and treatment, despite her protests, leading her to slap his face - only for McCoy to slap her right back. His demonstration of strength actually seems to convince her to respect him, and she allows him to treat her. McCoy judges that she might give birth at any moment, worrying as he is not well versed in Capellan anatomy and so can offer only basic help. They find a cave to hold up in and Spock and Kirk prepare to defend against the pursuing Capellans, fashioning primitive bows and arrows as McCoy assists Eleen. Since the bow has never been invented on the planet, they hope that the weapon might give them a considerable advantage.

As Maab and his men approach, Kirk and Spock use their communicators to create a sonic frequency that will cause a resonance in some overhanging rocks, collapsing them onto the Capellans. The trick works, killing some of the men. However, Kras seizes the chance to grab a phaser from one of the men and kill him with it. Back in the cave McCoy helps Eleen deliver the baby, only to have her bonk him over the head with a rock and escape. She makes her way to Maab, surrendering and claiming that she killed the baby and the humans whilst they slept.

Kras demands to see Kirk's dead body, refusing to trust Eleen's word - unfortunately, this is a terrible insult to Eleen whose word as the widow of a Teer is above reproach, even as she is due to be executed. A Capellan tries to kill Kras but he vapourises him with the phaser. At that moment Kirk and Spock attack again with their bows. Kras is injured, and starts firing with the phaser. Maab deliberately sacrifices himself, stepping out into the open to allow Kras to fire on him in order to allow another Capellan to get a chance to throw his weapon. It works, and Kras is killed.

Back on the ship, Scotty takes the Enterprise directly at the Klingon ship - essentially playing chicken with them. The Klingons blink first, and the ship proceeds through to the planet and beams a security detail down to end any further conflict. McCoy reunites Eleen with her baby; as the son of a Teer he is in line to rule, and Eleen will act as Regent until he is of age - a highly favourable outcome for the Federation, given how she has bonded with the officers. She names her son Leonard James Akaar, and agrees to the mining deal they had hoped for.